Chocolate Tart.

This chocolate tart brings tears of joy to my eyes. The first time i had ever tried a raw dessert was during a women’s surf and yoga retreat in Bali, Indonesia. It was a chocolate pie like this, but miniaturised into a single portion. I remember eating this treat at the Earth Food cafe in Seminyak and i could not believe that it did not contain eggs, butter or milk. Secondly i could not believe that it had not been cooked. My whole perception on food was shaken. I remembered thinking to my self, ‘well what the HELL is in this thing!?’. Honestly, i nearly felt sick when i heard that avacado and banana were mushed up to make the filling. But then i thought, ‘why?’. Why is that grossing me out? In comparison to the rest of the food i had eaten all day, that was the most loving, nutritious and tasty thing that i had ever put into my mouth. From there on, i have been so intrigued and interested by raw food recipes because they are just magic and so good for you!

This dessert took less than 20 minutes to make, from getting the ingredients ready to washing the dishes. I cut the chocolate tart in half, and sliced each half into individual portions. Half of it went to my fridge, where it can sit for at least three days (if it lasts that long) and the other half is in my freezer, where i can store it for desserts or late night snacks for up to two weeks.

The recipe is from my favourite cook book, ‘Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People’ by Jennifer Cornbleet. It is available on Amazon.com and it was pretty cheap, and i think i also got a green smoothie recipe book with it too.

To make this dessert, you need a food processor or a good blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec.

Chocolate Tart.

Coconut Crust

1 1/2 cups of unsweetened shredded or dessicated dried coconut

1 1/2 cups raw macadamia nuts or raw walnuts
(unsoaked)

1/2 teaspoon of himalayan salt

1/2 cup of pitted medjool dates (unsoaked)

Place the coconut, macadamia nuts or walnuts and salt in the food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and start to stick together. Don’t over process.
Line the bottom of a round cake tin (spring form works best for me) with baking paper. Pour half of the mixture into the cake tin and spread out evenly then press down firmly. Add the remaining half and distribute evenly, but press it down so some of the crumble goes up the cake tin. Or just throw the crumble mixture in, shake it around so it’s evenly spread out and just press down so it’s all firmly packed down. Sit in the fridge while you make the filling.

Place the dates, maple syrup and vanilla in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the avacado, banana, coconut butter/oil and raw cacao and process until creamy. As annoying as it is, you will need to stop the food processor and scrape the sides down occassionally. Add the water and process brifely.

Get the cake tin from the fridge and pour the filling over the crumble. Use a spatula or spoon to evenly sprad over the crumble. Here you can do fancy stuff like little quiffs or make it really flat looking. Leave it to set in the fridge for at least two hours so that it is firm enough to slice and serve. If you are a guts and have made it all for yourself with no one else to impress, you can bypass this step and enjoy it straight away. Sprinkle with fresh berries and enjoy.

Best served chilled or at room temperature.
Now, you can keep this in the fridge for 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks. Also, the crumble mixture is yummy over some coconut yoghurt , so if you have any left over you can keep it in an airtight container for up to two weeks. The filling can also be altered to be a rich chocolate mousse (just leave out the banana) and eaten on it’s own.